This video is why I’m long on humanity.

Notes from My Journal:

“Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it.”
Henry David Thoreau

I’ve been complaining about how busy I’ve been.

“Just stop doing it,” K tells me.

“But I like it,” I say.

“Then stop complaining!”

Writing this now, I’m wondering when my work life shifted into fast-forward. It feels like it began just a few weeks ago – but when I check my calendar, I can see that it’s been speeding up steadily since the beginning of the year. (I am absolutely OCD about writing down my must-dos and following up on them. I can tell you exactly what I’ve been doing at work on a daily basis, and in 15-minute increments, for at least 25 years.)

What happened was, in retrospect, very simple.

I began staying late in my office on Wednesday and Friday evenings – partly to get more work done, but also to make myself more available to my colleagues, co-workers, friends, and acquaintances that might want to stop by for a drink, a cigar, and a conversation.

Then I got the bright idea of asking Frank, the Cigar Club’s official bartender, to be there regularly on Fridays and often on Wednesdays, too. As a result, I’ve been lucky to get out of here before midnight.

I’m not complaining. I’m simply letting you know one of the reasons why I’ve been getting this blog post out only once a week. Spending more time having conversations on Wednesday and Friday evenings means getting excited about all sorts of new projects – which sometimes (often) means making commitments I don’t have time to keep.

One of them is about AI. Several of the Cigar Club regulars are young, super-smart digital entrepreneurs, and they’ve been talking more and more about how fast AI is developing. I can see it from my own perspective since I’m involved in digital publishing. They are closer to much of what’s going on because they are in the industry, but they are all saying what I’ve been saying in the pieces I’ve been writing about AI: Five years from now, the world we are living in will be almost entirely replaced by an AI superstructure. And a shockingly large part of that is going to happen in the next two years.

So tonight, I’ve got about 20 people coming to the gallery above the Cigar Club to talk about what is going to change in the coming year, what business and/or investment opportunities will arise from that, and ideas for how we can help one another ensure that we are all on the right side of that wave. (I’ve got my own idea: a digital club whose initial purpose is to stay close to everything that is happening so that we will be able to take advantage of any good, safe opportunities that pop up.)

There are several more things that have been keeping me busy – all very exciting, but moving so quickly that the window of opportunity to get hold of them will be shutting very soon. That means more brainstorming, more plans, more product ideas, and probably more commitments.

I’m not complaining…

It’s been ages since I graced you with a book review, and I know you must be champing at the bit to find out what I’ve been reading all these weeks. As busy as I’ve been, I’ve somehow managed to keep up with my read-a-book-a-week mandate – mostly by “reading” the fiction as audio recordings and reading the nonfiction “purposefully” (skimming for the good ideas and discarding the rest).

Below, you’ll find somewhat truncated reviews of four of the eight books that I feel I “owe” you. Two novels, one which I rated highly and the other which I trashed, as well as two books of nonfiction, both of which I very much enjoyed.

And below that, I’ve given you links to three disturbing articles I read recently on the decline of American education, despite all the spending American taxpayers put out for it.

The Last Painting of Sara de Vos 
By Dominic Smith

Published: 2016
Pages: 304
 
Summary: The Last Painting of Sara de Vos is a historical fiction novel that connects three timelines through a single 17th-century Dutch painting. The story follows (1) Sara de Vos, the artist who painted it, (2) the Manhattan lawyer who inherits it in 1957, and (3) Ellie Shipley, an Australian art historian who forges the painting as a student and later must confront her past when both versions of the work are set to be exhibited in 2000. The novel explores themes of art, forgery, identity, and the lives of women artists across centuries. (Source: Google AI)
 
What I Liked About It: 
* Technically well written; very good descriptive passages 
* Interesting details about historical periods, the art market, and the techniques of forgery
* Asks several philosophically sound questions: At what point does imitation make the artwork inauthentic? Where is the value in making art? Is it technique? Originality? Economics?
 
What I Didn’t Like: Telling three stories in one novel is clever, and it mostly works here – but at the cost of taking a good deal of tension away from the plot.
 
Interesting: Sara is Dominic Smith’s creation, as is the life he invents for her. But she is based on a real artist of the Dutch Golden Age, Sara van Baalbergen, who, in 1631, was the first woman ever to be admitted to the Haarlem Guild of St. Luke, which controlled all aspects of an artist’s professional life.
 
In this video, Smith talks about how the book came to his imagination and why he structured it as he did. 

Critical Reception: The Last Painting of Sara de Vos was a New York Times bestseller and a New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice. It was named a best book of the year by Slate, the San Francisco Chronicle, and Kirkus Reviews.
 
My Rating: 8.2 out of 10
Overall, a cleverly conceived, well-written, and interesting read, although it was stronger vertically than horizontally.
 
About the Author: Dominic Smith is the author of six novels, including The Last Painting of Sara de Vos. His writing has appeared in The Atlantic, Texas Monthly, the Chicago Tribune, The New York Times, and The Australian, among other publications. He grew up in Sydney, Australia, and now lives in Seattle, Washington. (Source: Amazon)

The Spy and the Traitor 
By Ben Macintyre

Published: 2018
Pages: 384 

Summary: The Spy and the Traitor is a nonfiction book about Oleg Gordievsky, a high-ranking KGB officer who became a double agent for British intelligence during the Cold War, providing crucial information that helped hasten its end. The book details his disillusionment with the Soviet system, his recruitment by MI6, and his daring escape from Moscow.

What I Liked About It:
* Technically well written
* A strong plot, tense with anticipation; a page turner
* Lots of details about the spy game
* Lots of facts about the Cold War

Interesting: Despite being the KGB’s London station chief, Gordievsky was simultaneously providing high-level secrets to British intelligence for over a decade. His intelligence was so critical that it helped convince Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher that the Soviet Union was not planning an imminent nuclear strike.

In this video, Macintyre tells Gordievsky’s true-life story.

Critical Reception: New York Times bestseller, named a Best Book of the Year by The Economist, shortlisted for the Bailie Giffords Prize in Nonfiction

My Rating: 8.5 out of 10
I’ve not read many military or spy books, but thanks to the Mules, I happily read this one.

About the Author: Ben Macintyre is a bestselling author and a writer-at-large for The Times of London. He has also written and presented BBC documentaries of his work. (Source: Amazon)

Ten Philosophical Mistakes 
By Mortimer J. Adler

Published: 1985
Pages: 224
 
Summary: Adler identifies 10 errors in modern thought that have led to serious consequences, negatively affecting everyday life and understanding. His basic argument is that these errors stem from a 17th-century departure from classical philosophy, and he aims to correct them by returning to a more traditional philosophical framework. 
 
Pat Flynn, host of “Philosophy for the People,” gives an entertaining summary and review of the book in this live vlog. 
 
What I Liked About It: 
* A great concise review of modern thinking – in particular, post-modern thinking – that is more in need of understanding and condemnation now than when Adler wrote this book in 1985.
* Adler covers a broad range of interesting and important questions on topics like consciousness, the intellect vs. senses, words and meanings, knowledge vs. opinion, moral values, happiness, free will, human nature, society, and existence. 
 
What I Didn’t Like:
* My understanding of the philosophical arguments that Adler calls “mistakes” is limited, so there were moments when I wasn’t sure if I agreed with him. 
* His writing style is precise and concise. Both are virtues. But when combined in a discussion of big and complicated ideas, it makes for a good deal of rereading passages two and three times.
 
My Rating: 9.0 out of 10
Notwithstanding the sentences and sometimes paragraphs that were beyond my understanding, I found Ten Philosophical Mistakes to be a pleasure. It’s one of those books that, after reading it once, I want to read it again – and I did read this one again. Reading it this second time was pure enjoyment. More enjoyable than the first time because I was better prepared. If you told me I had to read it again starting tomorrow, I’d have no problem with that.
 
About the Author: Mortimer Jerome Adler (1902–2001) was an American philosopher, educator, and popular author. He served as Chairman of the Board of the Encyclopedia Britannica, Director of the Institute for Philosophical Research, Honorary Trustee of the Aspen Institute, and authored more than 50 books. (Source: Amazon)
 
 
Culpability 
By Bruce Holsinger

Published: 2025
Pages: 350
 
Summary: When the Cassidy-Shaws’ autonomous minivan collides with an oncoming car, 17-year-old Charlie is in the driver’s seat, with his father, Noah, riding shotgun. In the back seat, tweens Alice and Izzy are on their phones, while their mother, Lorelei, a world leader in the field of artificial intelligence, is absorbed in her work. Yet each family member harbors a secret, implicating them all in the tragic accident. (Source: Amazon)
 
What I Liked About It: 
* It was a quick read.
* Holsinger did a good job of pacing the action scenes – e.g., the car crash that sets the theme of the story, chasing after his son, running into his billionaire neighbor, etc. 
 
What I Didn’t Like:
* The philosophical exploration of the ethical quandaries of artificial intelligence was not satisfying. It asked the obvious questions, but provided no insights that were anything but superficial.
* The presentation of the characters was also superficial. None of the characters felt real to me. 
* The dialog didn’t help matters. I found none of the conversations the slightest bit interesting. It was a series of politically correct cartoon people saying politically predictable things to one another.
* The narrators’ interior monologues felt not only fake, but offensively so. Listen to the thinking of an evolved man who makes organic food for his family, has second thoughts about all the money he makes working for Big Pharma, and hates his billionaire neighbor because – well, like they say, “Who needs billionaires?” Far from a three-dimensional character in which one could see the surprises and contradictions of being human, Noah is a caricature of the contemporary American view of the non-toxic man.
* Of course, the protagonist is named Noah. Of course, the billionaire’s beautiful daughter is named Eurydice. Of course, the family name is hyphenated. Of course, they drink soy milk. 
 
Critical Reception: Oprah’s Book Club Pick, New Yorker Best Books of 2025, 2026 Aspen Words Literary Prize Longlist, Kirkus Best Books of 2025, Real Simple Best Books of 2025, Washington Post Notable Fiction 2025, NPR’s 2025 “Books We Love” 
 
My Rating: 3.0 out of 10
The book jacket describes Culpability as a “literary thriller.” It’s neither literary nor a thriller. Before reading it, when I saw that it was an Oprah Book Club Pick, I suspected that I was in for a pedantic TV show of a novel. And despite some passages that worked as narratives, that’s what I found it to be. No. It is worse than that. It’s more like a politically correct soap opera for the upper-middle class and proudly Woke Boomer generation. Ugh!
 
About the Author: Bruce Holsinger is an American author, academic, and literary scholar. He has written for the New York Review of Books, The Washington Post, and op-eds for The New York Times. Culpability was his fifth novel. He is currently professor of English at the University of Virginia. (Source: Wikipedia)

… this is what your life is like.

Readers Write: 

“Love the way you write. Thanks for imparting a bit of your knowledge to me.” – KDW

Postscript: Symbols & Secrets That the Coen Brothers Keep Slipping Into Their Movies 

I recently watched a short film by Ariel Avissar compiling circular imagery in Coen Brothers movies from 1987 to 2018. It revealed something important about how great creators think. As you will see, Avissar illustrates how the Coens use circles frequently in their films. Bowling balls. Steering wheels. Plates. Camera movements. Even framing devices. I never noticed that. I presume it was intentional. In any case, I’m going to be looking for it when I watch their post-2018 movies.

This cold snap on the eastern seaboard of the US is not a snap, it’s practically a season. It’s been going on for a month. It is also not just on the eastern seaboard. It starts higher than that and ends lower. It’s also wider.

I’ve just returned from a work trip to Nicaragua, where, for the entire three weeks I was there, the “snap” brought average temperatures down by at least 10 degrees. But at this time of the year, temperatures usually fluctuate in the 80s and 90s – which meant the weather was still near-perfect at Rancho Santana throughout my entire stay.

I was, however, worried about the effect the near-freezing nights in South Florida would have on the thousands of plants and trees in Paradise Palms, our botanical garden. I’ve put so much time and money into the garden over the years that its value, at least to me, is greater than the value of my beachfront home.

It’s amusing to realize that I’ve spent most of my life never giving a second thought to the weather. As a child, I yearned for it to snow enough to close my school. As an adult, I occasionally wondered about how the lack of snow would affect my skiing. And there was always the occasional hurricane to be faced in Florida. But those were rare events and could be insured against. You can’t insure yourself against damage to very rare and valuable trees that could be chilled to death.

Since returning, I’ve been wearing a jacket every day and even a jacket and sweater while walking the dog at night. Today, I’m wearing a tee shirt. It’s a bit cold for a tee shirt, but I’m doing what I can to signal to Mother Nature that enough is enough.

Speaking of cold (cough, cough), I was following all the craziness surrounding the ICE protests in Minnesota. And although I think the deaths of the two protesters were not murders, I do think that they might have been avoided if Trump and his team had listened to my advice… which is the main subject of today’s issue.

Readers Write:

From PP: “I’ve read and reread several of your books. I have digital notes from all of them. I regularly find myself going back to one of your concepts or ideas…. I don’t think I’ve gotten as much value from any other business thinker as I have from you (Alex Hormozi coming in a close second lately). So I just wanted to say thank you for all the knowledge you shared over the years.”

About the Wedding at Rancho Santana in the Feb. 5 issue 

From AS: “Rancho Santana is an unbelievable place just to vacation, but what an amazing destination wedding venue it is! Your article certainly was blatant advertising, but unlike most advertising, it was somewhere between truth and underselling.”

From KM: “The wedding at Rancho Santana sounded incredible! It also gave me a clearer sense of the gap between my image and the reality of South American countries.”

I found this in Letters of Note. I love it. Shaun Usher presents us with a number of clips from letters that Charles Darwin wrote when he was on his various tours around the world. It turns out he wasn’t just a science and nature lover, he was also a hater… of science and nature and nearly everything else!